The Cancer Symptom Trials (CST) Annual Research Forum brings together researchers, health professionals and consumer representatives interested in cancer symptom management and supportive care.

The theme for the CST Annual Research Forum 2020 is Vision 2030: Cancer Symptom Trials.

The Forum is aimed at anyone interested in cancer symptom management and supportive care clinical trials research.

Program

The program includes presentations from invited speakers:

Professor Dorothy Keefe will give the opening address. She is the CEO of Cancer Australia and an Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Adelaide as well as a past-President of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). In 2013, she was awarded a Public Service Medal for her service to public health, medical research and oncology.

Professor Vickie Baracos is the keynote speaker. Professor Baracos is Alberta Cancer Foundation Chair in Palliative Care Medicine in the Department of Oncology, University of Alberta. Her long-term focus has been the pathophysiology of skeletal muscle atrophy in an effort that encompasses fundamental and translational research, a clinical agenda and an international network of strategic collaboration.

Cancer cachexia, a debilitating condition characterised by profound atrophy of skeletal muscle is her main focus since 2003. Some key publications include Baracos VE et al. Cancer-associated cachexia. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2018; 4:17105; Martin L et al. Diagnostic criteria for the classification of cancer-associated weight loss. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33(1):90-9. Fearon K et al. Definition and classification of cancer cachexia: an international consensus. Lancet Oncol. 2011;12(5):489-95.

Professor Baracos developed the use of clinical computed tomography to detect and precisely measure the muscle loss, which is an integral part of cachexia. Muscle loss is strongly associated with severe chemotherapy toxicity, complications of surgery and mortality in patients with different cancers.

Associate Professor Richard De Abreu Lourenco is an Associate Professor with CHERE and Pis currently working as the Project Coordinator for the Cancer Research Economics Support Team (CREST) and as Senior Evaluator for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) team.

Chairs of four symptom node subcommittees will present on their research in management of particular symptoms including appetite and cachexia, pain, fatigue and nausea.

Additional program information is available on the CST Events page.

Confidentiality

Delegates are required to sign a confidentiality agreement. Current members may already have one in place. CST staff will contact you if you need to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Photograph permissions

Photographs will be taken on the day for promotional purposes.

The University of Technology Sydney has the absolute right of ownership of any photographs taken on the day and will be entitled to publish, distribute and use the images for promotional purposes.

If you do not wish your photograph to appear in any promotional materials, please email cst@uts.edu.au to advise.